Stick Figure: A Diary of My Former Self - Softcover
Based on diaries written in 1978, when she was eleven years old, the author offers a chronicle of her battle with anorexia and the pressures from family, peers, and society that led her to starve herself.
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
In the image-conscious world of 1970s Beverly Hills, 11-year-old Lori knows she's different. Instead of trading clothes and dreaming of teen idols like most of her pre-adolescent friends, Lori prefers reading books, writing in her journal and making up her own creative homework assignments. Chronically disapproving of her parents' shallow lifestyle, she challenges their authority and chafes under their constant demands to curb her frank opinions and act more "ladylike." Feeling as though she has lost control over her rapidly changing world, Lori focuses all her concentration on one subject: dieting. Her life narrows to a single goal--to be "...the thinnest eleven year old on the entire planet." But once she achieves her "stick figure," Lori really sees herself for the first time in a restaurant bathroom mirror and decides then and there to bring herself back from the brink of starvation.
About the Author:
Stick Figure is a surprisingly upbeat memoir, mainly due to Gottlieb's descriptions of her upper-crust parents: "Mom and I usually don't like the same movies. For example, she didn't like my favorite movie, Star Wars, probably because no one goes shopping...." But despite the sly humor, Lori comes to a sobering conclusion that is, sadly, still relevant today: "...you can be too thin and not even know it, because you spend so much time listening to everyone talk about how ladies are supposed to diet, and how something's wrong with you if you aren't worried about being thin, too." Culled from Gottlieb's pre-teen diaries, Stick Figure is a wry and engaging observation of an eating disorder and the society that contributed to it. --Jennifer Hubert
Lori Gottlieb is author of the national bestseller, Stick Figure: A Diary of My Former Self, an American Library Association "Best Books 2001" selection and a Borders "Original New Voice" title. Based on her childhood diaries, Stick Figure was optioned for film by Martin Scorsese, who described Lori’s quirky teen narrator as "Holden Caulfield goes on a misguided diet." Lori is a regular commentator for NPR’s All Things Considered, and her radio features have aired on public radio’s This American Life, Weekend Edition, The Tavis Smiley Show and Marketplace. As a journalist and columnist, Lori has written for The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, Time, People, The Atlantic, Elle, Glamour, Redbook, Slate, Salon, Seventeen, CosmoGirl!, The L.A. Weekly, The San Francisco Chronicle, and The New York Post. She also penned the monthly “Brunch With” relationships column for Mademoiselle.
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- PublisherDemco Media
- Publication date2002
- ISBN 10 0606214658
- ISBN 13 9780606214650
- BindingPaperback
- Rating
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